How to Become Vegetarian? Make a Decision! Be a Healthy One!

Take a Deep Breath

How to become vegetarian?

Become a vegetarian - a decision that probably means making chanages in your life. Being a child of the 60's, I dabbeled with vegetarianism. But ultimately, continued to eat meat and plan meals the same way as my mom. Open the freezer door at breakfast, and decide what kind of meat to thaw for dinner.

No matter what your reason to change, it's never been easier to become a healthy vegetarian. Grocery stores and restuarants now have meatless meals, gluten free products, low fat, low carb, count your points food.

There are many different forms of vegetarianism. A true vegetarian eats no meat at all, beef, pork, chicken, fish, buffalo..you get the idea, nothing with a face.

How to Become Vegetarian

I probably fall into the semi-vegetarian lifestyle. I eat some fish and try to plan my meals around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts. Even being a part time vegetarian has health benefits.

This way, I can gradually change my eating habits, improve my health, and loose a little weight. In the business world, it's called "continuous improvement".

Once a week, eat bean burgers, leave the meat out of your pasta sauce, make a risotto with colorful vegetables- you may just find yourself eating “better.”

How to become vegetarian? Start by elminiating red meat and other high fat foods- skip the fast food joints. Many vegetarian dishes are already staples. We eat fruit salad, peanut butter and jelly, and beans and rice. Your plate will have an empty space that was filled with a piece of an animal.

Revise your portions of meat and veggies until you can eliminate the meat all together. Human's are creatures of habit, so change your habit!

Find one of the many books on becoming vegetarian. Living Vegetarian for Dummies provides easy ways to live a vegetarian lifestyle - even a gradual or flexible one.

Start Slow and Easy

How to become vegetarian is different for each person. Start out slow and easy; just modify what you already eat. Pizza without the pepperoni or stir fry without the chicken. Your body won't be happy with just eating the bun from a hamburger!

Maybe picky eaters won't like hummus or tofu. Not a prblem. Protein can be found in many sources from beans and lentils to seeds and nuts. Even reduced fat cottage cheese has plenty of protein.

Don't stress out if you slip. The smell of bacon still has a hold on my heart- no pun intended- but smelling bcon only is better for my heart than eating bacon. The longer you go without meat, the fewer cravings you will have.

Bacon may smell so wonderful, but once you look at it, the smell all of a sudden doesn't mean the same. Vegetables are colorful and beautiful.

Most vegetarians prefer their food organically grown and (if they eat fish or fowl) organically fed. Don't worry about getting enough protein, it comes in other forms than just from animals.

Veggies, grains, seeds and nuts have protein, but no cholesterol which only comes from animal products.

What's Vegan?

Your next step may be moving to a vegan diet. A vegan diet means restricting your food choices even more. Vegans are meatless like vegetarians, but also stop eating eggs and dairy. This requires more thought and planning to make sure your body is getting all the nutrients and micro-nutrients it needs. Check out Vegan Mecca for more information on vegan diet and lifestyle.

Take pride in your accomplishments, even small changes can have a big impact on your health. Any animal-positive change has an affect.

Variety is the spice of life and this includes a variety of foods that will provide you with all the protein, vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Will Everyone Become Vegetarian?

Do you think that everyone on the planet will be vegetarian one day? I don't believe that everyone will one day stop eating meat just because it's the "right thing to do". Developing countries are eating more meat - especially beef- as their standard of living increases. It's a status symbol.

At some point, the world won't be able to sustain the meat habit. According to the FAO, 33% of the world's arable land is devoted to growing crops for animal feed. Grazing for animal herds is a major factor in deforestation.

Water will be the new oil in the future. Raising animals for food takes alot of water. With global warming, water will be too "expensive" to use for animal farming. The average U.S. diet needs 2 times the amount of water as does an equally nutritious vegetarian diet reports the Worldwatch Institute.

This sounds scary for carnivores. How to become vegetarian - when meat is a luxury. Will the food revolution begin?

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